Betrayed (17 page)

“This assignment means a lot to me,” Bran added.

“I know,” I whispered. He might not have admitted it, but I knew this was a chance to prove himself to my grandfather and the other Cardinals.

They trusted him with a task and he was determined to see it through. Personal y, I thought they were being unfair.

“This is just a setback. You’l hunt Zedekiah down, get Damien and the List before the demon world knows what hit them,” I added.

His shoulders dropped as he relaxed. He turned his head slightly and rubbed his cheek against my forehead. “How come you’re always optimistic?”

“Because I believe in you.” I gave him a gentle squeeze.

“I don’t deserve you,” he murmured.

I hated it when he said things like that, but I hated it when he said things like that, but now wasn’t the time to lecture. “I know. You should adore me and kiss my feet every morning and tel me how you can’t possibly live without me.” He chuckled and turned to wrap his arms around me. “You’re impossible.”

Thril ed I got him out of his mood and made him laugh, I added, “I’m that, too, but you love me anyway.”

“I do.” He cupped my face and studied my features as though committing them to memory.

“One day I’l be worthy of that love, Sunshine.”

“You’re worthy, sil y. You’ve always been.”

“One day…,” he vowed softly then leaned down and kissed me.

His lips were gentle at first, tender and reverent. Then they became demanding, his hand cradling the back of my head. I pressed against him as a wildness I couldn’t explain stormed through me.

The turmoil he felt must have switched off the control over his passion because he was suddenly al over me. Hands. Body. Lips. I tasted and breathed him, and it was glorious. I wound my arms around his neck. He pressed my body against his.

One minute I was in his arms, the next he was by the door, breathing hard, eyes wild. He forked his fingers through his hair and cursed softly.

Frustrated, I sighed.

“We need to join the others,” he said in a husky voice.

Closing my eyes, I leaned against the window and tried to catch my breath. Knees a bit wobbly, heart racing, my body tingled in ways I never knew possible. I should get mad with him. It seemed like he always kissed me senseless then took off. One day he wouldn’t run away.

Opening my eyes, I took a step and tested my legs to make sure they would carry my weight. Al was good. I walked to where Bran stood watching me warily. He opened the door and stepped outside before I reached him. Talk about being scared. He couldn’t even look at me. Big, bad Bran scared of little me. I never loved him more.

Closing the door, I trapped him before he could move. Wel , trapped wasn’t exactly the right word since he was tal er and bigger. I merely wrapped one arm around his mid-section while stil holding the door handle, forcing him to stop.

“Lil,” he warned.

“You’re always leaving me when things get interesting. Why?”

His eyes narrowed. “Because I vowed never to rush you.”

I let go of the door handle and drew squiggles around the middle button of his coat, al of a sudden feeling shy. “You made the vow to me, but now I say you’re not rushing me.”

“I’m not?” his voice rose on the last note, a big frown on his face.

He was so cute when confused. “No.”

He swal owed and a weird expression crossed his face. In fact, he looked like he was about to take a plunge into a turbulent sea.

“I also made a promise to your grandfather,” he added, speaking slowly.

My hand stil ed while my face warmed.

“You discussed us with Grampa?” I squeaked.

“He threatened me with bodily harm if we…if I….” He lifted his chin and stared at the ceiling, his cheeks turning pink. When he looked into my face, he wore a determined expression.

Disappointed, I stepped away from him. I thought he always stopped because I wasn’t ready. I only took two steps before he grabbed my hand and pul ed me into his arms.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

Too humiliated, I looked at my shoes instead.

He lifted my chin. “This is not easy for me either. I want to be with you in every possible way, but I gave my word.”

A wolf-whistle resounded in the hal way. We jerked back and looked around for the source. A stunning girl with black hair and flawless skin stood at the end of the hal way. Dressed in black leather pants, a matching jacket and boots, a tank top that showed flat, taut abs, she could be a pin-up biker chick. With her were two kids, a young girl and a boy about ten years old.

“That was quite a touching scene. A little nauseating, but touching nevertheless,” she said in a sultry voice I recognized right away.

Solange.

I glared, noting everything about her al over again, including her wel -developed chest. How I hated her. She had to be in her late teens or early hated her. She had to be in her late teens or early twenties, and imagining her with Bran sent a kil er rage through me. Worse, she just overheard our conversation, adding to my humiliation.

“What is she doing here?” he whispered.

“Angelia, the little demon-girl in the lobby, said she came after Zedekiah earlier and couldn’t reach him, so she went to get help. I guess the two kids with her are immune to salt.”

“Don’t trust anything a demon says, even a young one.” He walked around to stand between me and his super hot ex-whatever.

I grabbed his coat and yanked. “You promised I’d take her down.”

“Not today. Solange’s here to gloat. I bet she got Zedekiah, and I’m not about to let her get away with it.” Body tensed, his snapping eyes stayed focused on Solange.

I hated that he couldn’t look away from her, even in anger. “You promised. Just one zap and you can take over.”

Bran sighed. “Fine, but make it count.” The children, a pale boy with black, curly hair and a walnut-brown girl with a bushy ponytail, were already walking toward us. The salt didn’t bother them, just like the light from the jadeite hadn’t bothered Angelia. The next second, they dissolved into smoke form and drifted to the ceiling and toward us. As for Solange, she stayed put, grinning. I wanted to destroy her, watch her burn on her way to Tartarus.

I moved to the middle of the hal way and found her psi energy before she realized my intention. Her eyes widened.
Gotcha.
As long as I trapped her energy, she couldn’t fight back.

With a wave of my hand she went flying backward and hit the wal , cursing worse than a sailor. The children stopped and looked back. I hit her again, causing her to fal to her knees. She screamed in rage and cal ed me names.

“Take that, filthy mouth,” I mumbled.

“That’s enough,” Bran said impatiently.

“Not by a long shot. I want her in position.”

“For what?” he asked, clearly exasperated.

“This.” I thrust my hand forward. The salt lifted off the floor and flew like a swarm of locusts toward Solange. Once it formed a circle around her, she’d be trapped and Bran could finish her off after getting whatever information he wanted. I grinned with anticipation, watching her scramble to her feet, her eyes wide.

A needle-sharp pain speared through my head as she broke free of my hold. Bran’s hand shot out and a dagger sailed toward Solange so fast it was a blur. It imbedded in the wal where she last stood. Her laughter rang in the hal way.

I stared at the empty spot. “Dang, she teleported!”

“It’s not your fault. We’l get her next time, but we have her minions. Get down from there now,” Ban barked, glaring up.

The two sets of grey mass shot back along the ceiling then drifted to the ground a few doorways from us and coalesced, spinning fast like tiny tornados. Their little feet in sneakers formed first then their torsos and final y their heads.

He started toward the kids.

I dodged his footsteps. “They’re not her minions. Solange is using them. Their sister Angelia is my friend.”

Bran didn’t slow down, a frown settling on his face. “Angelia?”

“The little girl in the foyer. I promised her I’d help them get away from Solange.”

He stopped, his voice ripping through me.

“You what? You can’t be friends with a nature-bender, Lil. Even little ones. They’re the worst of the demons.”

“I can befriend whoever I want,” I retorted, moving around so I blocked his path. “Take a look at them.” A glance over my shoulder found the boy holding the girl’s hand, both looking scared. I lowered my voice to add, “that boy could easily have been you nine or ten years ago. He has no one to love him except Solange, who’s tel ing him to do mean things and giving him false hope. He and the other children like him could be on our side instead of the Lazari.”

“No, they can’t,” he snapped. “I lived with kids like him, their powers are al over the place because they get them too early and don’t know what to do with them. You can’t mold them or….” He looked over my shoulder and cursed.

I whipped around. The children were gone.

“Now see what you’ve done,” I screamed at him. “You were once like them, Bran. Alone and him. “You were once like them, Bran. Alone and needing help. I didn’t give up on you. How can you give up on them?” Turning, I marched to the elevator.

Right this very moment, I total y hated Bran Llyr.

9. Demons’ Agenda

“What took you guys so long?” Izzy asked as soon as the hostess, a Civilian Guardian, led me to the table where everyone else was already eating.

Bran and I looked at each other. We had a long talk during the elevator ride and the walk across the grounds to the tower. He might be stubborn, but he wasn’t unreasonable. I didn’t real y hate him. He just did and said things that drove me crazy.

“Can it wait until after we eat, please?” I asked.

Izzy shrugged. “It’s no biggie.”

Whenever Bran and I ate at the tower, we ordered the same things from the Ala Carte menu—

grand seafood platter for an appetizer, roasted rack of lamb, green asparagus, and potato gratin. We finished with soufflé or crème brulee. A waitress took our order, brought our drinks and appetizer as we settled into our seats.

For the rest of the meal, conversation flowed smoothly. A singer performed in the background.

The Bel agio fountain display visible through the glass window kept us entertained. I had missed this the last several months—the gathering after a hunt.

Not that we hunted anything tonight, but the look on Solange’s face made the night memorable. Seeing everyone relaxed was nice. The mood felt so different from earlier, even Bran was relaxed. No worry vibes from him.

Once we started on our dessert, I knew I couldn’t put off explaining what happened anymore. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat.

Everyone looked at me. “I’l explain everything, but you have to promise not to interrupt until I’m done.”

They nodded.

“I’l start with Angelia, the little girl who hugged me in the foyer. She’s actual y a nature-bender, or like she cal s herself and the others, a
Special.
” I didn’t leave anything out until I finished with, “we have to find a way to help them.”

No one spoke. They just stared.

I winced. “Say something, guys.”

“First him,” Izzy waved to indicate Bran, “now
Children of the Corn?”

Bran cocked an eyebrow, grinning. “
Children
of Corn?”

“Know your horror movies, Bran. How could you trust the girl, Lil?” Izzy asked in a frustrated voice.

Kim rol ed her eyes. “How could she not? The girl is a nature-bender.”

The dig hurt. Just because a nature-bender’s blood flowed in my veins didn’t mean I trusted al nature-benders. I ground my teeth and snapped,

“fine, I get it. I shouldn’t have let Angelia go, but my dagger didn’t glow. What was I supposed to do? The more she talked the more I realized I couldn’t do it.

It’s a good thing I didn’t. The information she shared was useful.”

“What happens if she finds out we vanquished her parents?” Kim asked in a scathing tone.

This was one of those days when everything that came out of Kim’s mouth ticked me off. “I guess we’l cross that bridge when we get there,” I said through clenched teeth.

Kim cocked an eyebrow. “We?”

I stil hated that she could lift one eyebrow like Bran. “
I
wil cross it.”

“Not good enough,” Kim retorted. “After

“Not good enough,” Kim retorted. “After Coronis, we agreed to vote on issues affecting our group. So we either agree to help them or not. What do you guys think?” She looked at the others.

Who died and made her our leader? I glared.

She stared right back at me, a smug smile on her glossy lips.

“I say cut the little demon child loose,” Sykes said.

“I second that.” Izzy looked at Remy. “You?” Remy cleared his throat. “I met the kid and talked to her. She’s cocky and reckless. We have enough on our plate with finding the List and don’t need to take on more responsibilities.” He shot me a pained look and shrugged. “Sorry, kiddo. I vote with the others.”

“Ever the diplomat, bro,” Sykes said then turned to Bran. “What say ye, Cardinal?” Bran glanced at me instead of answering Sykes. His loyalty was something I always could count on, no matter what, but now the others needed to know the truth.

“Tel them,” I said on a sigh.

Bran

grinned,

probably

anticipating

contradicting them. “My first reaction was like everyone else’s when Lil and I had this discussion.” He glanced at me, probably remembering we didn’t exactly discuss it. I had yel ed at him. “But, she explained everything to me.”

The others groaned.

“You always take her side,” Kim muttered.

Bran squeezed my hand under the table.

“When she’s right, I do.”

“Al the time,” Izzy griped.

Bran just shrugged. “If the prophecy is right and Lil’s the one to unite the Nephilim, bringing these children to our side could be the beginning.

Instead of fighting her, we should help her. I say, forget about voting and start thinking like the Guardians who wil help shape the destiny of our people. Lil can’t do it alone. She needs our help.” He glanced at Kim. “I know some of you might question this destiny thing, but you need to know the Cardinals believe in it…in her,” he corrected, nodding toward me. “The demonic world, as you already know, takes the prophecy very seriously. So what do you say we stop these internal squabbles and work together?”